How Talking to Your Pets Can Improve Your Writing

Admit it: You talk to your pets.

Seriously, I don't know anyone with pets who doesn't talk to them. If you're a writer, why not put that one-way* conversation to work?

Libraries and schools across the country already know the value of canine listening skills in Reading to Dogs programs. Having a non-judgmental audience helps kids become more confident readers. Without having to worry about whether they might stumble over words, kids get more practice and start to enjoy reading more.**

What if you could get some of these same benefits as a writer? You can.

At my weekly critique group, we bring copies for people to follow along, but each writer reads his or her own work aloud. It's a great way to catch awkward phrasing, spots where the pacing starts to lag, and other common issues with works-in-progress.

While your pets may not be able to help you identify loose plot threads or character inconsistencies*, reading to Fido can help you spot problems.

It's also a common public speaking tip to practice a speech in front of the mirror, but the benefit of practicing with your pets before you start doing readings is that you're preparing for a live audience. Once you're in that bookstore, you may be faced with people who suddenly have an urge to start chewing on something or decide to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of your scene. Your pet will help you get used to powering through those distractions.

Give reading to your pets a try. It's one more way for them to earn their spot in the acknowledgments. You'll thank them someday ... Out loud.

*If you're having a two-way conversation with your animals, or if they do offer editing tips, we should talk book proposals.

**On a cute footnote: a recent Tufts University study of reading to dogs programs found that kids tended to pick animal-themed books, "seeming to want to choose stories the dogs could relate to." Perhaps it's a lesson in knowing your audience?



Photo credit: Sugar Pond